FX’s adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s THE STRAIN continues to sound better and better. John Hurt of ALIEN, HARRY POTTER, HELLBOY, V FOR VENDETTA and MIDNIGHT EXPRESS fame, has joined the cast of the series.
Hurt joins Corey Stoll and Mia Maestro in the pilot (which is angling for a 13-episode pick up), and “will portray Professor Abraham Setrakian, a holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States after World War II and now runs a pawn shop in Spanish Harlem. As the outbreak spreads, he may be the only one with answers – if anyone will listen.”
del Toro met the announcement with much enthusiasm, as can be expected: ”I am incredibly happy to be reunited with John, who is one of the greatest actors in the world and one of my favorite people ever…Chuck and I always visualized him while writing The Strain novels and he is absolutely perfect for the part!” del Toro will be directing the pilot, from a script he co-wrote with Chuck Hogan from his vampire trilogy.